Port City Colombo operates under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act, No. 11 of 2021, certified on 27 May 2021. The Act establishes the Colombo Port City Economic Commission as the authority for economic activity within a defined Area of Authority, the boundaries of which are set out in Schedule I to the Act.
The Act was amended by the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (Amendment) Act, No. 1 of 2026, certified on 20 January 2026. That amendment is material to anyone modelling returns on a Port City investment, and it is dealt with separately at chapter 02. An investor reading a guide, prospectus or term sheet prepared before January 2026 — including the first edition of this guide — is reading the law as it no longer stands.
| Enactment | Ordinarily governs |
|---|---|
| Urban Development Authority Act, No. 41 of 1978 | Development control and planning approval |
| Municipal Council Ordinance (Chapter 252) | Municipal administration and rating |
| Commercial Mediation Centre of Sri Lanka Act, No. 44 of 2000 | Statutory commercial mediation |
| Town and Country Planning Ordinance (Chapter 269) | National and regional physical planning |
| Strategic Development Projects Act, No. 14 of 2008 | Project-specific tax concessions |
| Public Contracts Act, No. 3 of 1987 | Registration and disclosure for public contracts |
| Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Law, No. 4 of 1978 | The ordinary Sri Lankan investment-approval regime |
Schedule III, given effect by section 73. This is the complete list.
Two of those disapplications are routinely omitted from published summaries of the Act, including summaries produced by advisers. The Commercial Mediation Centre of Sri Lanka Act does not run inside the Area of Authority, which matters when drafting a tiered dispute clause that assumes statutory mediation is available. Neither does the Public Contracts Act, which matters to any counterparty whose compliance policy is built around it.
